Means for annealing the wire cables of cable railways



(No Model.)

A H. W. WILLSON. MEANS EOE ANNEALING TEE WIRE CABLES 0E CABLE EAILWAYS.

No. 436,552. Patente Sept. 16,1890.

Nm Tf1 A E A Qt N LA UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HORACE WV. WILLSCN, OF VCRCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

MEANS FOR ANNEALING THE WIRE CABLES 0F CABLE -RAILWAYS SPE("JIIEICA'IIOBIV forming part of Letters Patent No. 436,552, dated September 16, 1890.

Application filed March 22, 1890.

Serial No. 344,885.;` (No model.)

To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that LHOEACE W. WILLsoN, of the city and county of Worcester, and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cable Railways; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart of this specification, and in which- Figure l represents a vertical longitudinal section, with the car in elevation, of so much of a cable railway as is necessary to illustrate my invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of that part of the illustration shown in Fig. 1 to which said invention relates; and Fig. 3 is a transverse or cross sect-ion showing a modification in the construction hereinafter described, also showing more fully the application of my invention in practice.

As is well known by those conversant wit the construction and operation of cable railways, the wire cable constituting the motive power for propelling the cars soon becomes hardened and brittle in use by the constant gripping or pinching of the same to communicate the driving-power to said cars, each operation of gripping the cable causing more or less friction thereon by its slipping in the clamp device before the latter obtains a firm hold upon it. It is also obvious that as the cable becomes worn the clamp is liable to slip for a short distance at certain points, as well as in the operation of releasing the hold thereon to disengage the driving-power in stopping the cars. 4 This constant friction and Wear, especially upon a line much used,soon reduces the whole cable, if not reannealed, to such a hardened and brittle state as to cause the separate wires thereof to break and project out, thus greatly impairing its utility. To remove said objections is the main purpose of my invention. This I accomplish by arranging a suitable heating device A within the conduit B, in which the cable C is arranged, said heating device being so arranged that at least one of the strands of the cable may pass continuously through it and be sufciently heated thereby to properly anneal the same without removal from its position in said conduit. In practice it is designed to perform said operation at night, when the road is not in use, or at such times as the cable may be run at a slow speed without detriment to said roadway.-

It is preferable to confine the heat for a considerable distance along the cable by means of a suitable boX or furnace a, (shown in cross-section in Fig. 3,) a combustion-chamber a being thus produced,through which the cable passes, whereby it may be heated to the degree required as it is slowly and continuously drawn through the same. Heat may be supplied thereto by means of any suitable burner, as b, and fresh air by an air-pipe c, While the products of combustion may pass up through the vertical slots el and e, respectively, formed in the box or furnace and in the covering over tunnel B, in which slots the rod f travels, which connects the usual clamp device g with the car D above. Said heating devices are designed to be located at conven- -ient points, as desired, and may be reached holes, as h in Fig. 3, provided with a suitable door h. i

A railway of this class thus equipped may be operated, as will be apparent, with but little, if any, interruption from the cause herein noted. Consequently a large saving in the cost of running the road is effected, aside from the t-rouble and inconvenience which is thereby obviated. Furthermore, the cable may be made to last much longer by subjecting the same to the annealing process when requiring it, as aforesaid.

I am aware thatitis not broadly new to anneal a strand of metal by passing it continuously thro ugh a heating apparatus, and therefore limit my invention to substantially the construction and arrangement herein set forth, and pointed out in the claim.

What I claim as new and of my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, ils- The combination, with the conduit of a cable railway, of the metal cable arranged therein, means for moving the cable, and a heating device arranged within the conduit in proximity to the cable, whereby it may be progressively annealed without being removed from position, substantially as set forth.

. HORACE XV. VILLSON. lVitnesses:

A. A. BAR-EER,

W. B. NoUEsE.

to attend the same by means of suitable man- IOC 

